There are several notable items on Atherton City Council's Wednesday, Feb. 19, agenda – including a review of a townwide publication on fire service costs and a new three-story residence hall on the town's only college campus.

A four-page newsletter, sent to all residents, is part of the council's process of gathering feedback from residents on the town's 2016 fire services study, which showed a disparity between the fixed percentage of tax revenues the town's property owners pay to the Menlo Park Fire Protection District in return for emergency response services, and how much it actually costs the district to provide those services to the town.

Issues discussed in the newsletter, called the Athertonian, will include the tax revenue provided to the district by Atherton residents, the true cost of basic fire services and the difference between the cost of service and the revenue provided, according to a report prepared by staff for the meeting.

The publication, if approved by the council at the meeting, will not address fire department salaries and benefits, district organization, fiscal transparency and fiscal efficiencies, according to staff. (It would take about five to seven days to print and then mail the newsletter after approval, said City Manager George Rodericks in an email.)

The council will also vote on hosting community information meetings – tentatively scheduled for the evenings of March 10 and 11 in Holbrook-Palmer Park's Main House – on the fire services review. The review, commissioned by the town and released in 2018, found that Atherton taxpayers pay more than twice as much as fire services cost, paying about $7 million more annually than the cost of services. The study shows that in the 2015-16 fiscal year, Atherton, which has 8% of the residents in the fire district, provided 31.7% of the fire district's total property tax revenues.

In January, the council voted to initiate a two- to three-month process of gathering community input on the survey after deciding in December to consider the following options:

• Pursue further public education and outreach.

• Complete an application to the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) for detachment from the fire district. Should the town proceed with a detachment process through LAFCo, that process would include various public meetings and could ultimately include a public vote.

• Discuss possible legislative relief with county and/or state legislators. This would involve a change in the law, reallocating revenues derived from the town's property taxes, since the allocation to fire services is based on a state formula. The allocations of property taxes were set soon after Proposition 13 was passed in 1978, and as the property taxes generated in the areas the fire district covers — Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton and nearby unincorporated areas — increased, so did the fire district's revenue. Based on the results of the study and subsequent conversations with the district and LAFCo, it is unlikely that a tax agreement could be negotiated and unlikely that special legislation would be supported, according to the Dec. 18 staff report.

Also at the Feb. 19 meeting, the council will review a proposal for a new three-story, 288-bed residence hall on the Menlo College campus, according to a staff report. The proposed project will provide more on-campus housing options to students who currently live off campus, officials from the private school said in the staff report. The project is intended to address current demand for more on‐campus housing, not increases in student enrollment, the report states. College officials couldn't be reached for comment on the proposed housing project at press time.

The council will vote on allowing City Manager Rodericks to execute a professional services agreement with Lamphier Gregory, a professional services firm specializing in environmental analysis, urban planning and project management, for the preparation of an environmental document for the proposed dorms at 1000 El Camino Real. School officials say the new 36,700 square foot space would accommodate 147 student dorms and amenities. Proposed amenities include study spaces, lounges, game rooms, kitchens and laundry rooms.

The proposed T‐shaped layout is a traditional dormitory‐style, with rooms accessed off central hallways. Upper division students would serve as live‐in resident assistants to provide on‐site supervision and support for the student residents. Twenty units are proposed to be reserved for lower income students. The proposed site for the new building, which would take about a year to build, is interior to the campus and immediately adjacent to the existing residence halls.

There are currently five residence halls on the college's campus – with rooms that accomodate one, two or three students each, according to Menlo College's website.

In early December, the Planning Department received an application from Menlo College for a conditional use permit to construct the residence hall. Staff reviewed the application materials and determined that additional analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act is required.

The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. in Holbrook-Palmer Park's Main House, 150 Watkins Ave

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